Allicock, Amsterdam impress in training ahead of IBA World Championship

With the May 1

14 IBA

Men’s World Boxing Championships drawing near, Coach Terrence Pool said he’s pleasedwiththepreparation o f t h e c o u n t r y ’s representatives – Keevin Allicock and Desmond Amsterdam. The duo and Poole arrived in Tashkent, Uzbekistanthisweekforthe prestigious International Boxing Association (IBA) event,wherethey’vebeenin full preparation mode, hoping to bring home the country’s first world championshipsmedal.

In an invited comment, Poole said the boxers are “getting a lot of high-level sparring, which is good for theirimprovement,andthey lookfocusedandaretraining hard.” While Allicock will battle in the featherweight division, Amsterdam, Guyana’sSportsman-of-the- year, will touch gloves with thebestmiddleweights.

AllicockandAmsterdam will join boxers from 104 countriesattheHumoArena, where more than 640 boxers will participate in 13 men’s weight categories in

Uzbekistan’scapital Seven defending World Champions are among those who will fight for glory in Tashkent, including Sofiane Oumiha from France,

Tomoya Tsuboi and

Sewonrets Okazawa from Japan, Loren Alfonso from

Azerbaijan, Saken

B i b o s s i n o v f r o m

Kazakhstan, Yoenlis

Hernandez Martinez and Julio La Cruz from Cuba to shine in the ring again

Boxers winning gold will receive $200,000 USD. For runners-up, the prize is $100,000, and each of the third-place boxers will be awarded $50,000. (Rawle

Toney)